We’re Open: Oconee Diner

Almost every inch of the diner is covered in festive splendor that will be sure to get you into the holiday spirit.

News 12 Staff

Dec 18, 2020, 5:54 PM

Updated 1,456 days ago

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There's a Long Island restaurant that will definitely get you into the holiday spirit.
Walking inside the Oconee Diner in Islip is like walking through a winter wonderland full of holiday lights, toy soldiers and delicate ornaments and candy canes hanging from the ceiling.
Almost every inch is covered in festive splendor that will be sure to get you into the holiday spirit. Owner Spiro Karagiannis wouldn't have it any other way.
“People come here to escape, they don't want to be in their four walls anymore. They come here to enjoy themselves, so we try and make it as normal as can be,” says Karagiannis.
It takes 90 hours to get all the decorations up inside and outside the diner. You would think because of COVID-19, there would be less decorating this year, but the owner and decorator say it's just the opposite.
“When you walk in here and all of a sudden you're not thinking about COVID-19, you're thinking some sort of normalcy. that's all you want is some sort of normalcy,” says chef and decorator Bill Thompson.